Blessed Days of Anaesthesia

How anaesthetics changed the world

Stephanie J. Snow

A compelling, and at times grisly, account of a fascinating period in medical history

Describes the key episodes, the chance discoveries, and the very human dramas, which all led to the introduction of anaesthesia into modern medicine

Brings together the history of science with the history of a profound social change: as medical, moral, and religious orthodoxies were challenged, and intense debate gripped the public

The Victorians' encounter with anaesthesia not only led to better pain management and better medical practice, but, as this book reveals, it also resulted in a more compassionate society as a whole

Blessed Days of Anaesthesia

How anaesthetics changed the world

Stephanie J. Snow

Description

Among all the great discoveries and inventions of the nineteenth century, few offer us a more fascinating insight into Victorian society than the discovery of anaesthesia. Now considered to be one of the greatest inventions for humanity since the printing press, anaesthesia offered pain-free operations, childbirth with reduced suffering, and instant access to the world beyond consciousness. And yet, upon its introduction, Victorian medics, moralists, clergymen, and scientists, were plunged into turmoil.

This vivid and engaging account of the early days of anaesthesia unravels some key moments in medical history: from Humphry Davy's early experiments with nitrous oxide and the dramas that drove the discovery of ether anaesthesia in America, to the outrage
provoked by Queen Victoria's use of chloroform during the birth of Prince Leopold. And there are grisly ones too: frequent deaths, and even notorious murders.

Interweaved throughout the story, a fascinating social change is revealed. For anaesthesia caused the Victorians to rethink concepts of pain, sexuality, and the links between mind and body. From this turmoil, a profound change in attitudes began to be realised, as the view that physical suffering could, and should, be prevented permeated through society, most tellingly at first in prisons and schools where pain was used as a method of social control. In this way, the discovery of anaesthesia left not only a medical and scientific legacy that changed the world, but a compassionate one too.

Blessed Days of Anaesthesia

How anaesthetics changed the world

Stephanie J. Snow

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. Discoveries3. Anaesthesia in Action4. Women, Sex and Suffering5. On Battlefields6. The Dark Side of Chloroform7. Changed Understandings of Pain8. Into the Twentieth Century and BeyondEndnotesFurther reading

Blessed Days of Anaesthesia

How anaesthetics changed the world

Stephanie J. Snow

Author Information

Stephanie Snow is a Research Associate at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of Manchester. She wrote her PhD thesis on the life and work of John Snow (1813-1858), and is the author of Operations Without Pain: The practice and science of anaesthesia in Victorian Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006).

Blessed Days of Anaesthesia

How anaesthetics changed the world

Stephanie J. Snow

Reviews and Awards

"Useful for history of medicine and history of science collections, and for those supporting the study of change and its adoption. Recommended."--R.D. Arcari, CHOICE

"Easily accessible...well-suited for either advanced high school or college students interested in the history of medicine. It could also serve instructors as a rich source of information and interesting stories to use in the classroom." --World History Bulletin

"Skillfully bring[s] the culture of the period alive...Fascinating." -- Victorian Studies

"[...] A history of anesthesia in Great Birtain and the United States that medical professionals, historians, and the general public can all read with pleasure." -- Pharmacy in History